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Antisemitism review expected to reshape school guidance
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Antisemitism
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The Telegraph reports that teachers could face restrictions on the wearing of pro-Palestine badges following the government-commissioned review of school antisemitism. Sir David Bell was commissioned in March to investigate antisemitism in schools on behalf of the Department for Education. The former schools inspector's report, which has gathered evidence from pupils, teachers, governors and parents, from both state and independent schools, is to be published today. Ministers are expected to accept the recommendations in full, including encouraging schools to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism and providing teachers with antisemitism awareness training. By Albert Tait. Every school in England should mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Sir David Bell's review of antisemitism in schools and colleges is also expected to recommend. The Times understands the review is set to call for Holocaust education to make antisemitism an explicit and central theme, amid concerns that some schools have not marked the occasion on January 27 in previous years due to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The review is also expected to emphasise that three in five Jewish schoolchildren have experienced antisemitism and that some children do not report incidents because they believe they will not be taken seriously. By Gorgia Lambert.
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SEND: Petition to stop fines for school absence presented to Downing Street
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SEND
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A petition with more than 290,000 signatures has been handed into Downing Street calling for families of children with suspected special education needs and disabilities (SEND) not to be fined and prosecuted when pupils are absent from school. Started in 2022, the No School Fines campaign group has the support of Anna Maxwell Martin, the Motherland and Ludwig actor, who described the current system as "cruel and unnecessary". A Department for Education spokesperson said that with a £4 billion investment it was "taking action to transform the system". By Alex Pope, BBC News.
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What role should technology play in schools?
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Screens
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As concerns grow about the impact of screen time on children's learning and wellbeing, screen-time researcher Peter Etchells tells Tes schools' focus should be on how digital tools are used, where they add value and how potential risks are managed. "I think we need to take some of the panic and the urgency out of it, and, at a school level, ask: what role do we want digital tech to play in our school environment?", he says.
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End SPaG test and replace scaled SATs scores, IPPR report suggests
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General education
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Ending spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPaG) tests, replacing scaled scores and scrapping the publication of school-level results are some of the reforms that should be made to primary school tests, a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has said. The think tank's analysis of Department for Education (DfE) data shows only four per cent of disadvantaged pupils met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to 11 per cent of other pupils. It has made a number of recommendations, calling for them to be implemented as soon as 2027-28. By Esmé Kenney, Schools Week.
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Students take centre stage in school film project
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ISC schools
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In an article for School Management Plus, Jo Denham, head of marketing and communications at James Allen's Girls' School in South London, explains that pupils played an instrumental role in shaping a new video designed to capture the school's ethos and identity. "Whether behind the camera or shaping the creative vision, they provided a powerful example of the confidence, ambition and leadership we seek to nurture in our students every day", she says.
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The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.
Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.
Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.
Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.
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